Thel
by HippieCellist95
Summary: Just a note; I realize that some of the information in here is inaccurate. But I did my own take on Apollo's story and switched some of it up. Let me know what you guys think!


Her sweet giggles touched my ear as I rested my hands on her waist. The crinkles in the corners of her eyes deepened whenever I began to sing that soft lullaby while my forehead was against hers. That lullaby was something that we knew far too well, it was how we met. It was how I met Elise.

She backed away from me, staring at me with her chocolate brown eyes, "Thel?"

"Hm?"

She brushed hair away from my eyes, "How long do you think we'll be together?"

"For as long as you want me."

"What if that's for forever...?"

"Then you'll have me for forever, Lise." I kissed her fingertips, "I promise."

The faintest blush touched her smooth cheeks, "Othello, stop being so predictable."

"I'm not predictable," I chuckled, "that's my answer." I moved up her arm. I had planned a forever with Elise in my head, and it was almost too perfect. I was an idiot though. She didn't know what or who I was for a long time. I wanted to keep it that way to protect her from what I truly was.

"Another question," She murmured,.

"Yes?" I looked down at her.

"Why are you always so warm?"

"That's just how I am. Is it bad?"

"No!" She touches my arm, "Of course not, it's just...abnormal sometimes."

My gut tensed up into the slightest knot as she said the word "abnormal." It was, everything about it was. I swallowed hard as I could feel the truth lodged into my throat; it choked me , causing me not to breathe. I closed my eyes to steady myself.

"Lise, there's something I need to tell you."

Everything that I had to tell her ran through my mind all at once and it isntantly went back to the moment I left Olympus. I was perched on the ledge of Poseidon's Temple while looking out among Olympus. It was beautiful at night because of the glow that came off of it. I closed my eyes breathing in the many scents that coated the breeze. I was leaving the day after and wanted to savor home as much as I could before pushing it into the back of my mind. A pair of small hands rested themselves on my arms, "Brother?"

I grabbed one of my sister's hands, "Yes?"

"Do you really have to leave?"

I didn't want to give Artemis that reality any more than I had to, so I kept the somber look on my face to hide what I was really thinking; I wanted out of there. I placed my hand on hers, "Yes. You know I do."

She let out a breath, "I don't understand why, Apollo. If this is because of father-"

"No. It's not because of him."

"Then why?" She knelt beside me, "Why are you leaving? Why are you leaving me?"

I kept my mouth closed in a hard line and averted my eyes to the ground. I had no real answer to it, I didn't want an answer either. It pained me to leave Artemis by herself but it was best for her. I had a tendency of bringing danger to her numerous times while on Olympus. Our father, Zeus, never really approved of me but he endured my existence because he had to. All of us are immortal and would never cease to exist, no matter how badly we wanted to die so he dealt with it. He sent me to the Underworld many times for putting Artemis in harm's way, as if I were a child. Unintentional mistakes resulting in horrifying consequences, was how I saw it. I figured that I would just remove myself from the picture. There can be 11 Olympians.

I placed a strand of dark hair behind Artemis' ear, "I don't want to but it's for your safety."

"Apoll-"

"No. You know exactly what I'm talking about, I can't be here anymore because I'm a target and anyone will hurt anything around me to get to me. One of those things, being you. I cannot let anything else happen to you." I looked into her eyes trying to make her see reason.

Dimples formed at the sides of her mouth as her lip quivered. She lowered her head before I could see any tears fall. I held her in my arms and placed a kiss on her dark brown hair, it smelt like honey and I wanted to remember that. I pulled away, wiping the tears from her gentle green eyes and put my forehead on hers, "I love you."

"I love you too." Her voice came out in a broken whisper.

I stood up, took one last look at Olympus and made my way back inside the temple.

A hand grabbed my shoulder before I could begin my descent to Earth. I turned around and met the blue eyes of Poseidon; they were holding a look of disappointment that almost killed me. I shrugged his hand away, "Don't."

"Why?" Was all he said.

I couldn't really bring myself to give him a reason.

He repeated it again, "Why, Apollo?"

"I just have to go."

"What does that even me—"

I closed my eyes, "Poseidon. Please. I have to go. I can't...burden anyone anymore." The word came out almost in a strangle as my voice caught in my throat. I had come to terms with it so why was it so hard to say?

"You aren't a burden to anyone and you know that you aren't. I can't believe you're letting a bunch of gods run you off from your position as Zeus' son."

"I'm not his son, he made that perfectly clear."

Poseidon narrowed his deep blue eyes and rubbed his jaw, "Fine. Go. If that's what will make you happy, do it. But I'm telling you, Apollo," he got closer to me, his voice suddenly turning so grave that it almost hurt, "once you leave, you can never return.I would have to stop you."

I could feel a pain in the pit of my stomach as the words settled into my head. The only person besides Artemis to understand me would have to stop me from ever coming to Olympus . Whenever Zeus wasn't there, it was Poseidon who looked after me. We were close and he was the father figure I never had.

My eyes began to burn as I tried to avoid his stare, "I have to go now."

"...Apollo."

I looked up at him.

"Be careful." He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I will."

There was a painful cracking sound that sounded whenever his steel toed shoe connected with my ribs. A sharp and blistering pain shot through my lungs making me gasp for more air, if only I could have breathed the pain away.

A wet, slimy substance hit my face as one of the men spit on me. There was a grotesque chuckle, "What's wrong? Can't breathe? I can help you."

Another kick.

The human body that I was in took all the pain. It truly didn't phase me on the inside, making it easier to just lay there and take it. Elise betrayed me and I felt as if I didn't have any hope left for myself. After telling her about what I was, she didn't know what to say, she just had this terrified look in her eyes.

"Lise...?" I murmured after telling her, "Say something...please."

Her eyes were discs and her pink lips fell open slightly, a soft but staggered breath came out of them.

"Elise."

She closed her mouth in a hard line before saying, "I don't believe you."

"Elise."

"I don't believe you, I don't believe you, I don't believe you!" Her voice began to raise in hysterics, "I don't believe you!"

I reached out towards her, "Elise!"

Her sharp nails came lashing across my face, "Don't touch me! Don't t-touch me!"

I staggered back into the wall and felt a lump form in my throat that could be described as suffocating. My hands involuntarily began to shake violently as I took in the burning on my cheek.

Her shallow pants filled the room, she collapsed looking like a tattered doll in a puddle of pastel yellow with her dress puffing out around her. Her bangs hid her eyes but I could see her cheeks become wet with tears. Watching someone fall apart is indescribable. I pity anyone who has ever gone through it. If I hadn't had the willpower I had, I would have fallen with her.

Elise slowly brought her thin arm up under her bangs to wipe away the tears. She stood up, swaying a bit and finally looked up at me.

"Don't you ever come near me again, you freak."

The last word went straight through my heart and it made all emotion void. I nodded.

That was the last time I thought that I would see her, until I saw her a few weeks later. I went to a bar because at the time, I thought that was the best solution, to drink my problems away. Needless to say, she had moved on. The tall, blonde guy that had her drunkenly pinned against the wall proved it. I sipped my rum, staring at them and began to laugh. It was a twisted distorted laugh that I didn't know existed. Some eyes shot towards me and stared with a look of shock on their faces. The laughing intensified until my abdomen started to hurt. I wasn't drunk, nor was I sober but I guess you could say that I was...broken.

Elise turned to me, her eyes widened and she whispered harshly to Tall Blonde Wonder. They started toward the door and that's when I got up.

"No need," I slurred, trying to muffle my laughs, "allow me." I walked to the door, bumping into Wonder, not even looking at Elise and walked out.

My laughs slowly started to evolve into sobs as I slumped down the nearest brick wall. The weight of my problems began to crush me entirely and it started rising in my throat. Vomit came out of my mouth making my stomach twist even more. I heaved over again on all fours and let tears slide from my eyes. The smell of bile hit my nose causing my stomach to heave again. I, again, slumped back after I was finished and sobbed.

A hand suddenly extended in front of my face. I smacked it away, "Get the fuck away from me." I wiped my eyes with my sleeve.

"Get up, Apollo."

I froze. That voice, only it was different somehow.

"Come on."

Poseidon extended his hand again, staring me down with a look of disappointment. His human body threw me off; it was younger, more lively and, well, he was good looking. A long stream of yellow hair fell from over his shoulder, and a shade of blonde stubble barely touched his face.

I hesitantly took it in confusion. I stumbled into him, still hazy from the drinks I had, and almost began to cry again. He supported me and held me against the wall, "Apollo."

I gave him a distant look.

"You're going to be okay, you just have to try and sober up."

"She doesn't love me anymore." I slurred, he placed my arm around his neck and began to walk deeper into what I then realized was an alley. I didn't fight because I felt so sick.

"I know, I know, man."

We arrived to this worn down looking studio apartment that sat a couple of streets over from the bar. He hauled me up a few flights of stairs until we reached a door that said 606 on it in rusted brass numbers. He pulled out a key and opened the door, the scent of Old Spice hit my nose which made my nausea worse. He gently laid me down on the couch in the tiny living room and went down a hallway that turned off from the room. His steps were heavy as they hit the thin wooden floor, each thud made my head pound even harder. I could tell that the alcohol was wearing off because of how shitty I started feeling.

After a few minutes, he came back with two white pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Here," he handed them to me, "sip the water, don't chug it."

I placed the pills on my tongue and swallowed them with one drink of water. I almost gagged at the feeling of them traveling down my throat. After, I took one small sip and laid back down with my arm over my eyes.

I heard Poseidon take a seat beside me, "So tell me what happened."

"Not right now." I croaked.

"No, now."

I clenched my jaw, "I told her."

"Told her what?" His voice had a hint of "you dumbass" in it.

I removed my arm and gave him a look. He processed it and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Just from that reaction I could tell that I had made a terrible mistake in saying anything at all to Elise.

Poseidon stood up, "You already know what I have to say about that so no need to waste my breath. You can stay here as long as you want to, just don't fuck anything up."

"Can't make any promises..." I laid my head on the arm of the couch and put my arm back over my eyes.

"Can't make any promises..."

I held onto my stomach as I pushed myself to get up from the now wet ground. When I moved, I could feel the broken ribs stabbing at my lungs which made it ten times harder to breathe. I coughed, droplets of blood staining the sidewalk as I limped back to that sketchy, broke down apartment. It had been a week since I had started staying with Poseidon and it was like everything started to go back to normal.

I was on the way to Elise's to get the rest of my stuff when I was attacked. They were guys that were friends of her fuck buddy. I could tell by the anger that they had towards me, and by the random timing of them attacking me. The least she could have done was have them kill me. It would have saved me a lot of trouble and a lot of pain that I needed to stop feeling sooner or later. Too bad that I'm immortal.

My breath came out in shallow gasps as I crawled up the metal stairs of the complex. I collapsed to the floor, just out of reach of his door. He must have heard my body thump down on the floor because the door swung open. He gasped, "Apollo!"

I just layed there.

"Apollo," he shook me slightly, "stay with me." He hoisted me up by my arm and dragged me inside. He laid me down on the couch.

All I could do was stare at the ceiling.

"You're supposed to be the god of healing. Do your shit. I'm tired of taking care of you when you know that you can do it yourself."

"Shut up." I croaked.

"What?"

"I said," I grunted and sat up to face him, "shut up, Poseidon."

His mouth opened slightly, "Apollo-"

"You have no idea of what I'm feeling or what I'm going through. Don't you dare tell me to just make it go away. I'm tired of everyone telling me to get over it. I can't! How do you even expect me to get over something like this?! My heart was taken and spit on by the first person I've ever loved!" It hurt to breathe, I closed my eyes to steady myself, "You have no idea of what I'm feeling. You don't."

Poseidon pressed his mouth into a hard line and didn't say anything. I didn't want him to. I just didn't want anything else said about the situation, it was like a constant picking at an open wound.

I could have healed myself but I wanted to feel the pain.

I wanted to feel it so I could know what love felt like.

It was something I never wanted to do again.


End file.
